Hello all, this is my first post on the forums and I'm making it out of desperation. Hopefully I'm not repeating a question you get all the time, I didn't see it on the first few pages.

Here is my situation: I am a 26 year old registered nurse that is trying to finish up a BS degree in nursing so I can go on to grad school. I'm not sure exactly which Master's program is right for me but I plan to go down that path once this BS degree is in my hands. Currently I have five classes remaining to finish this degree through my University.

In the year and a half I have been taking classes I have always gotten Stafford loans to pay my tuition. Typicaly I would take four classes at a time, which was the minimum to benefit from a grant for full time students which covered a significant portion of my semester tuition. this past summer I took two courses. Prior to starting them, I notified the financial aid office that I would be taking summer courses and would need to get loans to pay for them though I did not hear anything back from them right away. Assuming they would just include these costs with my next semester tuition, I did not think much of it. The problem I soon encountered was this outstanding fee (around $4000) was never addressed and I was consequently unable to register for any classes in the fall due to the outstanding balance.

I have sent numerous emails to my financial aid department trying to get this resolved. In the past I have just gotten notifications that I needed to sign papers for my loans and have done so without a hitch. I now find myself in the predicament that I owe the university $4000 which is preventing me from finishing the Bachelor's degree that is only 5 classes away. I've tried many times to get someone to help me land the funding I need to satisfy this balance so that I can finish my degree. So far, all this has netted me is a financial aid package for next semester... which I won't be able to attend if the summer classes aren't paid for. I was selected for a significant grant to cover my final courses this year and I'm pretty sure it will be forfeited if I don't register for classes this semester, and I would hate to see that happen.

The only response I have gotten from my financial aid office (like I said, they only respond to me about 50% of the time) is "you need to take out a personal loan to pay for your outstanding balance." I am unfortunately a 26 year old living on my own, having to pay for housing, a car payment, utilities, insurance, and all the other fun things that come with being an adult. My credit is stretched pretty thin as it is, and I'm having trouble getting qualified for a personal loan in the amount of $4000. Also, these loans all come with pretty high interest rates. Is there some reason why I have to just cross my fingers and hope to get approved for one of these loans with a huge interest rate instead of getting the low/no interest federal loans that have always paid for my tuition in the past? Is it because the semester is already over?

I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent guy but this student loan business is like Greek to me and I'm having a really hard time figuring out where to go from here. I don't know if I'll ever get myself approved for such a significant personal loan and worrying about getting the loan has never been a part of student loans for me before. I've already been set back one semester by this and I really want to start up again in February (which is when my school starts classes again, they run a long intersession.)

So, what do I have to do? Am I just out of luck here?

Thanks!

You're not necessarily out of luck - check to see if any of the private student loan lenders listed below can help you:

http://www.privatestudentloans.com/compare/

You'll want to talk again with your financial aid office after applying for a private student loan to ensure that it doesn't change your eligibility for fall semester aid.